I am moving out for the first time in 3 weeks time, im nervious as im frightened ill go into debt

Question

i feel i can afford to move out but im worried i wont afford bills n stuff. my friend is moving in with me. any hints or tips to stop me worrying on how to manage my money and bills better??answers would be appreciated. thanks

Answer 1

Yes, set as much as you can up on monthly installments instead of a big bill every three months. Most companies will issue you a payment card and also let you do this by direct debit.

Answer 2

Sit down together and write down the total income you both have and i assume the bills will be going 50/50.set up monthly direct debits for all your bills,you cant go wrong if you are care full and sensible but try and save some money for you both to enjoy yourself good l**k

Answer 3

Direct debit your bills

I have pre-payment meters for my gas and electric.

Answer 4

No credit cards.   If you can't afford to pay cash you do  not need it.

I had very little when I first moved out, a mattress (no bed frame) a couch and a tv, which was on the floor.

I survived and own a nice amount of real estate now and have never had any debts other then my mortgages.   You can do it too.

Answer 5

Hi

Its an exciting time, but also a bit daunting I expect. Once in the property, you should sit down with your flat mate, and sort out the bills you will need, usually they are:-

Council tax

Gas

Electric

Water

Set up direct debits with these people and have the money come out of both accounts half each..say council tax is £100 per mth then set it up £50 each. The Gas and Electric will be harder to judge, but go for £25 for gas and £25 Electric so thats 12.50 each. If these are set up to be paid a couple of days after you get paid, then you have not got to worry so much. As long as you dont ignore the bills, you should be ok, you can always talk to customer services at these places they are usually helpful.

Good luck.

Answer 6

A really good rule of thumb is to make sure your percentage of the rent is a third of you monthly income.  Example… if your total rent is $1000.00 per month and you split the rent 50/50, you monthly income AFTER TAXES should be $1500.00.  This will leave you $1000.00 for the month to pay for food, hydro, phone, clothes, entertainment, and whatever comes down the line.  $250.00 per week should be enough to carry you through to next month.  As for your personal spending habits… pay for everything in cash!  And if you don’t have enough money for the item you want, save save save then buy!  

BTW.  Moving in with friends is not always the best idea.  Sometimes it causes more or a rift between friends than camaraderie.  Good luck!

Answer 7

Best thing i ever did was open up a basic, separate account with my mate in both names. This account paid for anything shared like Sky, BT, lecky, water, Gas, council tax the lot.  We paid a set amount in each month (enough to cover all bills) from our personal current accounts and just set up direct debits for all bills (most companies charge for not paying by DD).  We ended up in credit and went for a long weekend to Amsterdam!

Try to get all payments to come out at a certain time per month.  This way you know where you are.  DONT get a credit card.  It will cripple you eventually.  

Them pre pay cards aint bad but they can be a pain in the backside.  Imagine all sat round comfy watchin a good film on a cold November night and the lecky goes cos your mate forgot! They are a pain and rich people will look down on you!

Good luck. It's ace the first time but there is No place like home!!

Answer 8

Pay all your bills by direct debit and make sure you have the money in for them

Dont buy things if you cant afford them

budget all you can

Answer 9

Most people's mistake why they go into debt is the live above there means, if you make $200 a wk and have a $1200 a mth aprt u will have debt, just go over your finances reg and don't spend more then you make, simple common sense will help u make these decisions